Core covering apparatus



Aug. 19, 1941- J. F. ECKEL ETAL CORE COVERING APPARATUS Filed May 20, 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG! mums/Na a0 as,

ATTORNEY 19, 1941. J. F. ECKEL HAL 2,253,069

CORE COVERING APPARATUS Filed May 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 4

6B la @1/ I00. v i, VWIUV A if V u. v J. EEC/(EL l6 30 A ,6 INgNTORS W MORS/NG ,3 9 6 R I M,

.. ATTORNEY rams. portions thereof being adjusting mechanism shown Patented Aug. 19, 1941 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE cons covaanvc arrAaA'rUs John F. Eckel, Cranford, and William Morslng, Irvington, N. 1., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application May 20, 1939, Serial No. 274,774

11 Claims.

This invention relates to core covering appa- 'ratus,,and more particularly to an apparatus for forming a thermoplastic material on a core.

In forming electrical cable, for example, telephone cable of the armoredtype, the individual Wires are insulated and between the insulated wires and theouter covering of the cable one or more coverings of moisture. proof material is disposed. In certain types of cables a thermoplastic material has proven highly satisfactory as a protection against moisture.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple, efflcient and practical core covering apparatus.

v With this and other objects in view, the inherlng relation.

vention comprises a core covering apparatus for moving a sheet of .material longitudinally with the core to be covered and bending the sheet longitudinally about the core, with excess por-* tions of the sheet adjacent the side edges thereof moving into parallel relation as the covered core is advanced past rollers conditioned to draw materialtightly about the core, to remove excess material and force into cohering relationf I Other objects and 'advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when the remaining edges drawings, wherein Fig. 1 is a side elevational broken away;- 7 Fig. 2 is atop plan view of the apparatus, portions thereof being broken away;

Fig. 3 ismn enlarged fragmentary sectional view of the apps- The lower portion of the frame l0 supports a plate upon which is mounted spaced brackets 2| including therein suitable bearings to rotatably support the arbor 1!. Between the brackets 2| on the plate 20 is mounted abrake supporting bracket 23 pivotally supporting, at

taken in conjunction with the accompanying view talzen substantially along the line H r I Fig. 4 is a fragmentary top plan'view illustrating the removal of the excess material; a

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detailed view of an near the lower right hand corner of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary top plan, view 0f the i Fig. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary detailed view structure shown in Fig. 5;

of the roller adjusting mechanism shown at the extreme top of 1; and v Fig. 8 is an, enl ged fragmentary detailed sectional view of adjustable core supporting rollers.

Referring now to thedrawings, particularly Figs. 1 and}, it will be noted that the apparatus in general iscomposed of a frame ll having threaded shaft a mtemyjeuffiauedin bearings lower supports upon which an arbor His ro-' to cauae about the core.

its upper end, a brake arm 24 carrying a brake shoe 25. The brake shoe "and the portion of the brake arm carrying it are arcuate in general contour, conforming to a brake drum 26 mounted upon "the adjacent portion of the arbor I 1. Through the aid of a spring 21, the tension of which may be varied through the adjustment of a nut 28, suitable braking force may be applied to the arbor to create a desired tension on the material or tape ll as it is withdrawn from the pad l2. a

Means is not shown for advancing the core ID.

This is not believed necessary to illustrate the invention. It is important, however, that the corebe advanced longitudinally along a de path. As the core advances the tape I2 is caused to advance therewith and is bent longitudinally Means for bending the tape about the'core consists of a pair pf rollers 31 disposed adjacent the top of the core and a pair of rollers {I disposed diametrically opposite the first pair of rollers. The rollers 22 and II to-v gether with the rotary elements ll have a common support 32 which is provided with tongue portions ll slidably disposed in grooved guides 35, the latter being rigidly mounted upon the frame ID. ,The Dortionof the support 22 adjacent the'tongue'po'rtion's It carries an internally threaded bracket-21 which is connected to a- (not shown) mounted upon the (t me Ill", This structure, thatis, the threaded shdtt 22' and the brachet "Tare sumcient to cause vertical movement of thesnpportjfl when the shaft 22.;

in one directibnsor the other. Mean's j 7 rotation of jthe shalt to bring about;

is rota 46 is mounted upon the upper end of a tubular member 41 which rotatably receives'a pin 46 in the lower end thereof. The pin 46 has an enlarged threaded portion 49 upon which is disposed an internally threaded collar 50 having projecting diametrically opposed pins for engagement with the lower ends of springs 5| upon each side thereof, The upper ends of the springs, are connected to projections 52 on the support 32 so as to normally urge the pin 46, the tubular member 41, the yoke 46 and the rollers 3i upwardly to apply a predetermined pressure on the rollers of the material or tape. A knurled head 53 mounted upon the lower end of the pin 46 permits rotation of the pin relative to the collar 60 to vary the tension of the springs to vary the pressure of the rollers 3| on the mate. rial or tape.

Brackets 60 and 6| are mounted upon the support 32 to provide journals for rotatably supporting the rotary elements H. The brackets 6| have attachments 63 which pivotally support, at 64, a unit 65. The unit 65 has a grooved under surface 66 for receiving projections of supporting blocks 66, the latter also having projections extending downwardly to rotatably support the rollers 30. The blocks 66 have internally threaded apertures, the threads of one being left hand threads while the threads of the other are right hand threads. An adjusting screw 16 rotatably carried by the unit 66 has right and left hand threaded portions II disposed in the threaded portions of the blocks 66 so that through rotation of the adjusting screw with the aid of the hand wheel 13, the rollers It may be moved simultaneously toward or away from each other to allowfor variations in the having blunt rounded peripheries positioned to engage each other during rotation. Shafts It and l l have their upper ends fixed to the rotary is Journalled in a bearing to and the lower end of the shaft is journalied in a bearing 6|. A bevelled gear 62 is fixed to the lower end of the shaft 66 and interengages the bevelled gear 91 of a shaft U4. The shaft 64 is driven by a suitable power means(not shown) through the aid of a sprocket and chain connection 66.

Means is provided to remove excess material, indicated at Hit in Fig. 4, which is severed from the tape II by the rotary element II. This means consistsof endless conveyor lfll positioned to travel at right angles with respect to the path of movement of the core and operatively connected. to the shaft l4 through a sprocket and 5 chain connection I03.

Referring back to the rollers l4 and i6, these rollers are rotatably carried by suitable brackets I66 and I61, the bracket I66 providing a platform for supporting a fluid tank I06 and the brackets Illl. In the present instance the fluid tankcontains alubricant I08, such as rosin oil, for coating the roller it so that the under or eventually the outer surface of the tape I: will be coated with the liquid or lubricant as the tape is applied to the core.

In conditioning the apparatus for operation the tape is manually fed over the rollers l4 and II, bent longitudinally about the core, with the excess material adjacent each of the side edges thereof being positioned parallel, as illustrated in Fig. 3, and the tape thus positioned guided between the sets of rollers l6 and II and positioned to advance between rotary elements il. when this has been accomplished the apparatus is set in motion by connecting the shaft 64 with its power means to cause rotation of the rotary ele- ,ments through the bevelled gears 83 and 82, the

shaft lljthe pinion It, the gear 63 and the gear 84, causing rotation of the elements I! in the "tary elements ,II are positioned with respect to the path of the core and tape, which path is held elements. Interengaging gears 63 and I4, respectively. are mounted upon the lower ends of the shafts II and II. The gear 63 interengages a pinion 66 connected for rotation with a shaft 86 mitting movement of the pinion longitudinally of the shaft, yet assuring rotary movement of the pinion with the shaft. Suitable means is provided, such as a bracket (not shown) fixedly mounted upon the support 32, to maintain engagement of the pinion 66 with the gear 63 regardless of the movement of the support relative definite by the rollers 36 so that the elements If,

in their rotary movement will first draw the ta e tightly about the core and then pinch the material in two to remove the excess material 100. In the present embodiment the tape I3 is composed of a thermoplastic material easily formed about a core and providing edges when sheared which readily cohere. Therefore, as the excess material is removed by the pinching of the material between the rotary elements the remaining edges of the tape are squeezed together and due to the naturaof th thermoplastic material these remaining edges cohere to each other to seal the tape on the core. The positioning of the rotary elements closely adjacent the core causes each point on their peripheral surfaces, in swinging through the circular paths, to first engage the sides of the tape at spaced distances and during their further movement to the pinching oif positions their engagement with the sides of the tape will cause drawing of the tape tightly about the core. To avoid damage to the tape through the engagement of the rotary elements therewith in drawing the tape tightly about the core the tape is first coated with the lubricant I" through the aid of the roller II, which lubricant is sufficient to allow relative movement of the elements I 1 with respect to the tape, yet will not lessen the effectiveness of the elements in drawing the tape to the shaft 84. The upper end of the shaft 84 tlshtly about the core. The degree of tightness in which the tape is drawn about the core may be varied by varying the positions of the rotary elements with respect to the core. This is brought about through therotation of the hand wheel 42, rotating the shaft 4|, the bevelled gears 5 l8 and 40, the threaded shaft 38 and through its connection with the support I! the latter may be moved in either direction to suit'ably'locate the rotary elements. This adjusting is also necessary to condition the apparatus for other types of 10 cores, that is, cores varying in size During the adjusting to -vary the position of the rotary elements to vary the tightness of the tape about the core, therollers Ill .may'also be adjusted to vary the position of the advancing core with respect to. the rotary elements. The rollers 30 when once adjusted maintain their position to assure-a definite path 'of movement of the core while the rollers 3| assist in assuring this definite path by applying a predetermined variable pressure at a diametrically opposed position on the core and tape.-

In reviewing the operation of the apparatus it will be observed that the rollers 14 and II constitute means for feeding the tape it to the core it which, through the aid of the guide 9 and rollers and 3|, is advanced in a definite path.

The rotary elements ll, due to' their construction and the possibility, through theadjustment of the support, to vary the position thereof relative 30 vention as pointed out in and limited only by the 40 appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally advancly about the core and cause excess portions of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the .core, and a pair of rotatable-elements having substantially flat cooperating surfaces to engage the material on the core at positions short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about the core.

2. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally advancing core, means to bend the material longitudinally about the core and.cause excess portion of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallelabutting relation from the core, and a pair of rotatable elements having meeting peripheries and substantially flat surfaces, th surfa es cooperating. to engage the material on e core short of the said excess portions to draw the material tightly about the core and the meeting peripheries severing the excess portions from the material.

/3. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally advancing core,- means to bend the material ionrelation from the core, a pair of rotatable'eleme'nts havingsurfaces lying in a common plane to engage the material on the core at positions 7 short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about the-core, and means to varythe effectiveness of the elements in drawingthe material about the core.

4. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally. advancing core, means to bend the material lon-.

gitudinally about the core andcause excess portions ,of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abut- 5. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally advancing core, means to bend the material longitudinally about the core and cause excess portions of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the core. a pair of rotatable elements having substantially flat cooperating surfacestoengage the material-on the core at positions short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about the core, and means to apply a variable force-to the core and toward the elements to vary the effectiveness of the said surfaces in drawing the material about the core.

6.'A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally advancing core, means to bend the material ion- 35 gitudinally about the core and cause excess ,portions of the material at the sides thereof to pro- Ject outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the core, a pair of rotatable elements having substantially fiat cooperating surfaces to engage the material on the core at positions short of the said excess portions and draw thematerial tightly about the core, and a flexible support for the core and the material thereon adjacent the elements ing core, means to bend the material longitudinal- 45 '7. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a longitudinally advancing core, means to bend the material longitudinally about the core and cause excess .portions of the material at thesides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the core, a pair of rotatable elements having substantially flat cooperating surfaces to engage the material on the core at positions short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about the core, and flexible means to support the core and the material thereon "and apply a variable force on the core and the material toward the said elements to vary the efiect of the surfaces of the elements 0 in drawing the material about the core.

8. .A core covering apparatus comprising meant to feed talbe material to a core while advancing longitudinally along a definite path, means to bend the material longitudinally about the core and 'cause excess portions of thematerial at the sides thereof to proiect outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the core, a pair of rotatable elements having substantially flat cooperating surfaces to engage the material onthe core at positions short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about-the core, a support for the'elements, and

means to move'the support to vary the positions of the elements relative to said path to vary the effectiveness of the elements in drawing the material about the core.

9. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a core while advancing longitudinally along a definite path, means to bend the material longitudinally about the core and cause excess portions of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the core, a pair of rotatable elements having substantially flat cooperating surfaces to engage the material on the core at positions short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about the core, a support for the elements, and means to cause movement of the support to vary the positions of the elements relative to the said path with variations in the size of the core being covered.

10. A core covering apparatus comprising means to feed tape material to a core while advancing longitudinally along a definite path, members to bend the material longitudinally about the core and cause excess portions of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation from the core, a pair of rotatable elements having surfaces lying ina common plane to engage the material at positions short of the said excess portions and draw the material tightly about the core, means to vary the positions of the members relative to the said path with variations in the size of the core being covered, a support for the members and elements, and means to cause movement of the support to simultaneously vary the positions of the members and elements relative to the said path.

11. A core covering apparatus comprising an arbor to support a tape msterial, a roller to 'direct the material to a core while advancing longitudinally along a definite path. means to bend the material longitudinally about the core and cause excess portions of the material at the sides thereof to project outwardly in substantially parallel abutting relation, a pair of rotat- WILLIAM MORSING. 

